The Truth Will Set You Free
by Zappy Zaps
Summary: After four years in the DQ the Voyager crew makes it home but the homecoming doesn’t go smoothly. The Maquis contingent of the crew faces jail time unless… P, All
1. Journey's End

Title: The Truth Will Set You Free

Author: Zappy Zaps

Category: Drama/Action/Adventure

Summary: After four years in the DQ the crew of Voyager makes it home but the homecoming doesn't go as smoothly as they would have hoped. The Alpha Quadrant is in a state of up rest and the Maquis contingent of the crew face jail time unless….

Rating: PG-13

Pairing: P, All

Disclaimer: All the Star Trek characters are Paramount's. I don't own them (yet). ;)

Archiving: Please do, but tell me! note: Meh….

June03

Chapter 1 The Journey's End.

"Come on Seven, pick a card," Commander Chakotay encouraged the reluctant woman. She glanced at him and then at Lt. Paris who held out a fan of many cards, nineteen by her count. She thought that it was unusual, the Commander encouraging Lt. Paris' frivolous activities –it must be an impressive trick. She huffed out her breath and reached to take a card both men looking on eagerly. She picked an arbitrary card looked at the number and suit and then waited for further instructions.

"Okay," Tom said as he stacked the cards in his hand. He held out the deck telling Seven to "place the card back in but remember what it is." She did so. Paris handed the deck to the commander. "If you would please shuffle the deck commander," Tom said with the flare of a true magician." With gracious grin the Commander obliged and handed the deck back to Paris. "Now for the good part," Tom said with a wink at Seven as he reached for the top card on the deck. He noticed that a few more crewmembers were gathering around to witness the trick. He lifted the top card from the deck and faced it to Seven. "Is this your card?" he asked.

"No," she responded not seeing the amusement that the others were drawing from this activity.

"Just wait Seven, it gets better," Chakotay said.

Tom placed the card into the middle of the deck and then, in a move that Seven wasn't expecting he reached near her face, just behind her ear and with a quick motion of his hand a card appeared. "Is this your card?" he asked trying to keep a straight face.

"Yes," she said in confusion. She took the card and looked at it as though it held the key to solving the trick. She chanced a glance at her two companions and they were both grinning. "I do not understand. The card was placed in the deck. The deck was shuffled."

"And yet somehow it managed to get behind your ear," Tom said.

"Explain," she demanded handing the card back to Tom who only laughed at her demand.

"Seven, the mystery of the trick is also its allure. If you knew how it worked then it wouldn't be fun anymore," Chakotay explained to the former Borg.

"You are amused by your ignorance?"

Tom laughed. "That's one way of putting it, but you know what's even better?" he asked her. "Figuring out the trick," he reached behind the ear of a woman who stood near him and another card appeared, "on your own." He said with a smile and handed the new card to Seven. She examined the card as some understanding dawned on her.

Suddenly, the Captain's voice called over the comm. system. "All senior officers to the bridge."

"Duty calls," Chakotay said to Tom as they exited the mess hall. In the turbolift Tom finished arranging the cards into a neat deck before stuffing them in his pocket. "How did you make those cards appear?" Chakotay asked.

Tom's only response was a smug smile. He leaned casually against the wall of the turbolift, the Captain's summon not bothering him in the least. Chakotay watched the younger man's motions and noticed, not for the first time, that Paris' sardonic deportment didn't raise the dour dislike that it did when this journey began. He almost hated admit it to himself but the pilot had slowly become one of his favourite people to relax with. He remembered a time when Paris' smug grin would make him want to punch it off his face but now it only irked him in an amusing way.

Shaking his head at his reflective mood the Commander watched the doors slide open to reveal the bridge. They took their respective places and it was all business. The jovial mood that they had been enjoying was pushed aside for their duties.

"Neutrino emissions?" The Commander asked knowing he was interpreting the sensor reading correctly but still wanting conformation.

"Yes, Ensign Kim noticed them on the enhanced sensors but their origin is still unknown," The Captian informed him. She stood in the middle of the bridge, hands on her hips and staring at the viewscreen. She was in her nothing-can-stop-me mode. "Mr. Paris, slow to half impulse. Whatever's out there I don't want to pass it by."

"Yes Ma'am. Half impulse," Tom announced as he entered the appropriate commands.

"Anything interesting on sensors?" Chakotay asked Harry who was at the Operations station.

"Nothing yet, sir," Harry responded. They were reluctant to say they were searching for a wormhole. They had been met with disappointment too many times before to get their hopes up too high.

After two hours of searching with no results Seven's voice called the Captain to Astrometrics. "On my way," Janeway answered taking one last look at the expanse of stars on the screen before heading to the lift.

Seven refined her search parameters and there was a slight variation from her original results. Promising, she thought to herself and was again assailed with the strange reality that it was only her voice in her head. It had been over a year since she was liberated from the Borg but her rediscovered humanity still gave pause every now and then. In the collective she was never alone. The voices of millions were her constant companions, but now she was only one. She was getting used to the quiet, she was coping with the loss, but even better, she was embracing what had been taken from her as a child.

The doors swished open and then closed and Seven knew that it was the Captain. She greeted her in her usual clipped manner before diving into her findings. "There was a wormhole in this area approximately twenty-nine hours ago but it has moved. What Ensign Kim detected was the residual neutrino emissions."

"Could it come back here?" Janeway inquired looking at the screen and not at Seven.

"Highly unlikely, however, using the Borg enhanced sensors I was able to discern other points where a wormhole had appeared." Her silver lined fingers entered a long string of commands swiftly into the console. The screen changed to a larger view and Janeway watched as a complicated pattern of dots connected with a single blue line appeared in chronological order going back as far as eight months. After eight months the neutrinos had fully dissipated and there was nothing left for the sensors to find.

"Is there a pattern to the appearances?" Janeway asked hopefully.

"I have not been able to determine one, yet," Seven admitted but she was not about to give up either. "I have an algorithm in place to interpret that data we have obtained."

"Good work Seven," Janeway praised. She took one last glance at the information and turned to leave. "Keep me informed."

"Captain," Seven called before Janeway was too far away, "I require the assistance of Lieutenant Paris."

Kathryn turned to the statuesque blonde. "Tom? Why?"

"The lieutenant has an abstract thought process. Usually it is a hindrance however in this instance I believe and different perspective would be advantageous." There was a pause. "He also has a knack for solving puzzles."

"Abstract? How did you come to that conclusion?" Kathryn asked stepping closer to Seven.

"Observation. I have noticed that Lieutenant Paris does not take well to sciences that require linear thinking, such as temporal mechanics, however he is proficient in areas such as physics and mathematics where leaps of understanding allow one to advance."

"You observed this?" Janeway asked.

"Yes," Seven answered as though it was the only possibility. Maybe the Captain required further explanation –so she explained. "I have seen him order his thoughts so that he may present them to others in a fashion that they would understand. He is the most illogical individual I have met, yet he plays kalto as well as Tuvok if not better-"

Kathryn put up her hand to forestall any further observations that Seven had. "I'll tell Tom to join you here immediately," she said before exiting. It had surprised her that Seven realised through only observation, what had taken Starfleet complicated tests to confirm. Tom was an abstract thinker. On her ship she knew of only two people who were confirmed abstract thinkers and one other that she suspected. She had read Tom's file before he came onto her ship and that fact had not slipped her mind. It was apparent when she watched how he worked. Flying was natural for him, requiring more instinct and quick (sometimes hasty) decisions to keep that ship safe, especially in battle. It is one of the reasons why, though piloting was not always difficult, it is stressful and tiring and why sometimes pilots made the best Captain –they have plenty of practice making split second decisions that may cost lives.

Her thoughts about the enigmatic pilot lasted until she made it back to the bridge that last being the she didn't know that Tom played kalto. She nodded at Tuvok as she passed his console and headed to the set of stairs that would take her to the mid level of the bridge. "Mr. Paris," she got his attention, "Seven requires your help in Astrometrics."

"Really," Tom said swivelling around in his chair to face her while raising a sceptical eyebrow. It was hard to imagine Seven requiring anybody's help.

She held back the smile that threatened and answered. "Really." Chakotay gestured for the Ensign at Mission Ops 1 to take the helm until a replacement pilot arrived. Tom logged out and handed the controls over.

He walked to the turbolift shrugging at Harry who was as confused as he was.

"That is going to be interesting," Chakotay said to Kathryn as she sat in her seat. "Logic and perfection versus illogic and fun."

"Not 'illogic' Commander," she countered with a smile, "Abstract. I once heard a colleague remark that 'abstract is as close to pure logic as a humans will ever get.'"

Mentally Chakotay compared Tom to Tuvok and laughed quietly, so that he didn't draw attention to himself. "I don't see Tom as a very good Vulcan," except when he's really troubled, then you can't tell what he's feeling, he added silently.

Six hours later Voyager was still creeping along the same sector of space at half impulse. The Captain wanted a full analysis of this area before they left it behind which was beginning to look more and more like they were going to do. Seven had not contacted the Captain with any new information and they had to assume that no news meant bad news.

"It's been over six hours, Harry, I think they're ready for a break," B'Elanna said with a yawn. It was getting late but she –along with many others- was anxious for the results and thus refused to sleep for as long as she could still function.

"They'll be busy," Harry said but continued down the corridor with B'Elanna. They had been off duty for the past two and a half hours and they had not seen or heard from Tom.

"Too busy to eat, apparently," B'Elanna said disdainfully and Harry grinned. They had waited in the mess hall looking for Tom but he never showed up. A quick check of the computer told them that Tom had not left Astrometrics since he arrived there. "You know how Tom is," B'Elanna gestured wildly, her affection for the pilot coming through as irritation. Harry wondered why they had broken up in the first place. They had been so good together, Harry thought. Though even now, when they were no longer intimate, their friendship was better. The three of them, Harry, Tom and B'Elanna, where now like a little family. Harry couldn't imagine what he would have done on this long trip, without them.

They finally came to the main entrance of Astrometrics and walked in. It was quiet. The only people inside were Tom and Seven. Tom was slouched in a chair, obviously tired but Seven stood ramrod straight at her console not appearing at all fatigued. Having heard the sound of the doors swishing, both blondes turned to see who had entered. While Seven was annoyed with the interruption, Tom was grateful for it. He sprang up from his chair suddenly infused with more energy.

He grinned at them asking, "Are you here to rescue me?"

"You do not need rescuing, Lieutenant," Seven said walking to the trio. "We still have work to do."

"Seven," Tom whined, "I'm not doing you any good here."

"That is not true-"

"Have we found anything useful?" Tom interrupted her with his question. He folded his arms as he waited for Seven to answer.

"Not yet," She replied, still hopeful. "You are bored," she inferred. Without waiting for Tom to admit or deny her statement she retrieved a padd and loaded some information on it. She handed it to Tom.

"What's that?" Harry asked taking a glance at the padd.

"It is a puzzle," She told them. "Figure it out."

B'Elanna looked up at the Borg woman. "That's it? 'Figure it out'? Aren't you going to help at all?"

"Figuring out the trick on one's own is part of the fun." Seven twisted Tom's earlier statement. B'Elanna looked away from Seven to Tom who was enthralled by the information on the padd. She knew Tom liked puzzles. She had seen him do pads full of brain teasers and work through more magic and card tricks than she knew existed. Seven, it seemed knew this too and used it to her advantage.

During Seven and B'Elanna's little spat Harry and Tom had moved to a console and were attempting to decipher the pattern in the data Seven had given him. B'Elanna strode over to them. How could they both so easily be snared into Seven's trick to get Tom to work. Harry was looking at the list of data when B'Elanna grabbed it from him and looked at it herself. It was just a bunch of numbers listed in four columns: X, Y, Z, and 't'. B'Elanna guessed that they were Cartesian coordinated in three dimensions and a time index.

"Do you see a pattern?" Harry asked. B'Elanna was one of the smartest people he knew. Maybe she saw something that he didn't. Tom was just a blur of activity at the moment. He obviously saw something that Harry didn't but when asked to explain, Tom had trouble putting it into words. His ideas weren't coherent. They jumped around and while Tom seemed to understand what he was saying Harry didn't.

"It looks pretty random to me," B'Elanna said. She turned to Seven who had also gone back to work. "What makes you think that there is a pattern in here at all?"

"Truly random acts act are very rare. Everything is a prisoner of causality. The effects are obvious, but the causes are often more difficult to locate and even more difficult to understand."

B'Elanna wasn't impressed. She handed the padd back to Harry thinking that it was a waste of time. "Well, good luck." She yawned. Checking the chronometer it was nearly 0100 ship's time. "I'm going to bed," she stated. It had been a long day and the next one was looking even longer. "Starfleet, you coming?"

Harry nodded. He had Alpha shift in the morning and there was a meeting of the senior staff before that. He wanted to be alert for it. Who knows what discoveries might be made in the next few hours.

"Tom you coming?" B'Elanna asked.

"Lieutenant Paris is required here," Seven stated before Tom could answer. B'Elanna turned to the pushy woman ready for a fight.

"Lieutenant Paris requires rest," she said hotly. If Tom wouldn't look out for his health then somebody would have to do it for him and she wasn't about to let this hussy push anybody around.

"Ladies, ladies," Tom interrupted. "You don't need to fight over me." He said smiling. "There's plenty to go around."

His voice was innocent but B'Elanna could almost hear the innuendo. She rolled her eyes. "Pig."

"Oink."

She couldn't help but laugh. "Well we're leaving. I suppose we'll see you two later."

"I suppose you will. Goodnight," Tom said to both of them as they left and then headed back to his puzzle. Now where was I?

The next morning the Senior staff assembled in the conference room, minus their chief pilot. Tom and Seven were still in Astrometrics as far as the Captain new. She had stopped by briefly that morning and found Tom and Seven still at work. They seemed to be on the eve of a discovery but they had both been too busy to provide her with any details.

They were halfway through the meeting when the door slid open and Seven strode in followed more slowly by Lt. Paris. Seven greeted them curtly and Tom yawned a good morning. He headed over to his usual seat and slumped down, barely able to keep his eyes open. Harry who was in the seat next to Tom leaned over slightly.

"Did you sleep well?" Harry asked with a soft laugh. "Ow!" he said suddenly and rubbed the place on his leg that Tom's foot had connected with. He glared at his best-friend who only gave him a sleepy smile in return. "Cranky," Harry said and turned his attention back to the meeting. Tom only laughed.

"I take it that you've found something," Janeway said to Seven. She glanced to Tom and noticed his fatigue. They must have been up all night working on this, Kathryn thought to herself. Even Seven wasn't in her usual pristine form. Her hair was no longer in a flawless bun and her movements seemed more sluggish, though you could hardly notice.

"We've uncovered what appears to be a 'pattern' to the appearances of the wormhole," Seven said. She handed the Captain a padd with the information on it.

"Good work," Janeway praised. She skimmed through the information. "When do you believe the next event will take place?"

"According to our calculations," Seven began and threw a quick glance at Tom who had his eyes closed and looked to be sleeping, "another wormhole will form in twenty-one hours."

"Give or take a few minutes," Tom added, opening his eyes and trying to appear awake and alert.

Frankly, Janeway was amazed that both of them were still coherent. She had pulled some all-nighters in the Academy but what these two had been up to was more difficult than writing and essay just for the sake of getting it done. What they did required active analysis and constant thought which, after so many hours, is mentally exhaustive.

"How did you manage to figure it out?" Chakotay asked.

"It took eighty-three recursive algorithms, twelve giga-quads of computer memory, projections of astronomical motions and phenomena, three complete subspace scans and a whole lot of trial and error." Tom yawned. "Oh yeah, and the loss of seven hours of quality sleeping time….but it was worth it."

"Agreed," Seven nodded.

"We'll move Voyager to the location and wait. Ensign Kim, ready two class three probes. If a wormhole opens I want to know where it goes."

"Aye Captain," Harry said nodding.

"While we wait I want all sections to run full diagnostics of all key systems and implement any repairs that we've been putting off." The orders were met with nods from all the officers. "Dismissed." As they vacated there chairs the Captain asked to Seven and Tom to stay behind. Tom flopped back into his chair and waited. Seven remained standing.

When it was just the three of them Janeway began. "I'm impressed." She looked at both of them. "You've both done very well. This she said, skimming over the information again. "Do you know what's causing the wormholes?" she asked.

"Not yet. We'll work on it," Tom said looking at Seven. She nodded.

"You can work on it later. First I want both of you to get some rest." She saw that Tom was about to protest. "No buts, Mr. Paris. I'll have Ensign Culhane handle the diagnostic of the navigation systems." Tom obviously wasn't pleased with the idea. He didn't like shirking his responsibilities to Voyager and his duties. While he didn't make as big a deal of it as some of her other officers, she knew that Tom did not take his position as Chief Helmsman lightly. "I want you bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, for Beta shift."

"Yes, Ma'am."

Twenty one hours and eleven minutes later, the event finally occurred. At the predicted co-ordinates a wormhole appeared. It was on sensors but they could not see it. The probe was launched towards the phenomena and just as it passed the event horizon, the wormhole became visible. It spiralled open, sucked in the probe and then vanished. A few minutes after that the wormhole itself vanished from sensors.

The analysis of the data showed that even though the wormhole was not on sensors it still existed, possibly in subspace. The probe was still sending some faint telemetry, most of which didn't make any sense until it encountered another piece of matter at the core of the quantum distortion.

"Best guess is that it's some sort of generator…or something," Harry said to the Captain. They were both at his console on the bridge reviewing the data. "It's steadily releasing some sort of energy. It's off the charts but eventually it degrades into graviton emissions, which stabilizes the wormhole."

"But who built it? and where does it lead?" Janeway asked.

"I can't tell you who built it but I can tell you were it leads," Harry said and left the statement ended. Kathryn looked up at him hoping to for the answer but instead he showed it to her. The display on a screen behind him that usually monitored energy emissions changed to a diagram. In the middle was a circle that indicated the core of the wormhole and from it were many arms vanishing and appearing continuously. "Theoretically, the wormholes can go anywhere that isn't occupied by matter or antimatter." His voice was controlled but it was also hopeful. They could go home.

Kathryn Janeway sat at the desk in her Ready Room, sipping on some now cold coffee and trying to put everything that had happened in the last week into order. They had found a wormhole, actually a web of wormholes, they'd discovered how it works (even if they didn't quite understand it), and they manipulated it to work for them. Using the first probe that they had launched they ran tests on the device in the web. Sending commands to the probe required that they move Voyager near the location of the wormhole opening. Sometimes it was days between wormhole appearances, sometime it was only minutes.

Using their probe they managed to briefly open up a stable wormhole to the Alpha

Quadrant and they sent a probe which relayed the telemetry back through the wormhole to the probe that was still inside and then back to Voyager. They had tried it four more times, each one a success. Now the crew was wondering when the Captain was going to give the word that Voyager would be the next through. Excitement was gathering and for some, so was the tension.

She placed her cup of coffee of the desk and rubbed her eyes. They only had two more probes that could be sent and what was the point of anymore tests. Seven, B'Elanna and Harry assured her that all the tests with the probes would continue to be successful and for Voyager to get through it only required that the passage be large enough and that they emit and reverse graviton field to prevent the wormhole from collapsing on them. It all seemed so simple yet she hesitated.

The chime at her door interrupted her musings and she called for the person to enter. Her second in command walked in with a smile. His apparently good mood, lifting her spirits somewhat as well. "I have a surprise for you," he said.

"It better not be another report," she smiled her warning.

"Sorry." He apologized and handed her a report. She grimaced and accepted it. That was the problem with Starfleet, superfluous reports. "It's a short one," he told her hoping to put her in a better mood. She only grumbled. Taking a swig of her coffee she began reading only to pull a sour face when the cold liquid touched her taste buds. Chakotay tried to stifle his laughter but the Captain heard him anyway.

"You're in a good mood," she commented as she went to the replicator.

"I've been talking to Harry," he told her and that was all the explanation that she needed. The young ensign was still as eager as ever to get home. It was hard not to let his good mood rub off on you.

"Coffee, black," she ordered only to have the computer tell her that she was out of rations.

"I'll buy you a cup, but I think you should cut back a little. That'll be your' sixth cup today."

She sighed. "I know, it's just…there's so much to think of and so much that we need to plan for….." She faced him and smiled slightly. She was lucky to have him as her second in command. She knew that and she hoped that Starfleet would see that as well. There was so much uncertainty. The Alpha Quadrant may as well be one big question mark. It had been four years since they were thrown across the galaxy. Undoubtedly things had changed as much in the Alpha Quadrant as they had on Voyager. How would they fit in now? What would happen to the Maquis, Tom, Seven and the Doctor?

"I can't say I have a lot of faith in Starfleet," Chakotay started as he rose from the chair, "but this crew will stick together and we'll take whatever the Alpha Quadrant throws at us. Roll with the punches, as Tom would say."

Kathyrn laughed briefly. It wouldn't be so bad, with Chakotay and the rest of her crew with her. She swore to herself that she would to everything possible to protect them. It was her duty, to all of them.

That night Sandrine's was packed. All the holographic characters except Sandrine herself were removed to make room for all the crewmembers that were looking to unwind or work off some nervous energy with a game of pool. Tonight, as with most nights, Tom was running the table. He'd beaten six different people already and some of them had even come back for rematches, only to be schooled once again. Thankfully for them Tom wasn't interested in betting, so nobody lost any replicator rations. Even though his game was dead on, Tom's mind was elsewhere. He paid little mind to the conversations that flowed around him and only managed to pick up bits and pieces of what his excited best friend was saying.

"Tom! Tom!" Harry tried to get his friend's attentions.

"Pardon," Tom said as he sunk the eight-ball with a beautiful bank-shot. Harry had been saying something, apparently directed at him but he hadn't heard it. "Another game?" Tom asked Carson who had just lost with flying colours. The other man shook his head.

"I'm done loosing for today, Tom." Carson put his cue away and went to join another table of crewmembers. Tom only shrugged and began racking the balls up again. "What were you saying, Har?"

Harry crossed his arms and leaned against the wall, annoyed. How could Tom be so…indifferent? It's not everyday that you get to real chance at going home after more than four years on the other side of the galaxy. "Aren't you the least bit excited about going home?"

Tom's hands paused while he thought about it. "Nope." He continued to place the balls in position.

"I don't believe that."

Tom shrugged. He lined up his break. "Believe what you will," he said. He struck the cue-ball solidly and it hit the other balls with a resounding crack. They both watched as the balls rolled around the felt table, a few of them dropping into the pockets. "Don't get your hopes up too high though, Har," Tom warned.

Harry's expression became darker. "Thanks for the advice, but it's not necessary." Tom didn't respond. He sunk three balls in rapid succession before lining up a tricky bank shot to get the green, striped ball in the corner pocket. "It's home Tom. You have to be a little enthused."

Tom wished Harry would drop the subject. "I'm not. Why should I be? I have nothing back there to look forward too."

"What about you're familiy? Don't you want to show your father what you've accomplished?" Harry asked. Tom missed his shot.

He stood up slowly. "He won't care Harry. He doesn't have a son anymore, remember?"

"It's been four years-"

"What will he have discovered in four years that he didn't know before?" Tom questioned. His face was blank, his eyes were bland and his voice was even. Not a trace of real emotion was exposed.

"People change. Just give him a chance," Harry suggested but Tom only shook his head and went back to his solitary game of pool.

"There's nothing left to say between us." Tom easily sunk a blue ball.

"So going home doesn't matter to you at all?" Harry asked, his voice that of a man who had been disillusioned.

"Voyager is my home, Harry. The Alpha Quadrant, Earth, they're just more uncertainty that I can do without." Tom cleared the table until there was only the eight-ball left.

"So you'd rather be out here? In the middle of absolutely nowhere?"

"Location, location, location." Tom said shaking his head. He raised his eyes from the pool table to look at the friend who was beginning to get on his nerves. "It's all the same to me."

"I don't believe that. What about your sisters?"

"What about them?" Tom asked. He leaned against his cue.

"Don't you want to see them?"

"They won't want to see me," Tom replied and walked around the table to get in position for his shot. "Look Harry, the Alpha Quadrant, to me, is just like any quadrant of this galaxy, the only difference is that there's a whole slew of enemies and jail cell waiting for me."

Both Tom and Harry were still. The pool table was forgotten. The other occupant of the bar were tuned out. It was only Tom, Harry, and the thought of home. After a minute Tom lined up his shot and quickly sunk the last ball. "I'm glad you're looking forward to going getting to Earth someday Harry –you haven't given up. I just don't want you to be disappointed if we don't get there anytime soon."

"I'm no that green Ensign who you saved from the Ferengi on DS9." Harry stated in irritation. "I don't need you to protect me anymore."

"I know that Harry," Tom said softly. He chuckled to himself as he recalled the early days. "The ironic thing is that as much as you thought you needed me back then, I needed you more," He looked into Harry's dark eyes for an instant before moving to put his cue away. "Still do." He glanced at Harry before moving to the exit. He'd had enough of this tonight.

When he was only a few steps from the doors, they opened and the chief engineer walked in. She noticed Tom right away and noticed that he was looking rather depressed. She thought he'd be happy. They were so close to getting home. Even she was getting excited.

Tom didn't seem to notice her as she entered. She stepped in front of him and placed a hand on his chest to halt his retreat. Finally his attention turned to her. He smiled a fake smile at her but she could see past it. It had taken her a while but she could read Tom pretty well. "What's wrong?" she asked.

Tom shook his head. "Nothing." He grasped the hand B'Elanna had on his chest and brought it to his lip for a brief kiss. "I'll see you tomorrow." He released her hand and smoothly slid by her. B'Elanna watched him go until the doors swung closed and he was out of sight. She looked around the establishment and found Harry sitting at the bar with only his thoughts for company. He didn't look to be in a very good mood either and B'Elanna wondered what she had missed.

The next day the Captain announced that Voyager would be the next through the wormhole once all repairs and preparations were complete. Teams went over every square inch of the ship looking for any problems that might arise during their trip through the wormhole. The pilots practiced and practiced some more. They had to be prepared for all contingencies. Once they were in the wormhole it was up to them to guide the ship down the right corridor. The simulations went well but the real test would be when they actually traversed the wormhole.

Engineering crews were busy getting the thrusters and impulse engines to one-hundred ten percent of normal output. If they wanted to make it through they wanted every spare iota of power at their fingertips. Final preparations were completed at 1445 the next day. In another two hours an opening would form and they would have forty-five seconds to enter before the opening collapsed.

The two hours went by very quickly and the wormhole appeared again. "Take us in, Tom," Janeway ordered from her command chair. The bridge was bathed in red lights but the accompanying sirens that were usually heard during red alert had been cancelled. They needed to concentrate and the siren was only distracting.

Despite his apprehension about returning 'home' Tom didn't hesitate moving Voyager into the wormhole. The interior of the conduit was swirls of blue, grey and every so often there was a burst of white. The shaking didn't start until they were about a third of the way through. Ensign Kim reported that it was just residual graviton turbulence from the deflector. There was nothing they could do about it but it wasn't causing much damage, so they ignored it the best they could. "How much longer?" Janeway asked.

Chakotay checked the console between their chairs. "Eighty-nine seconds. We've just passed the core and entered the last section of the wormhole."

Tom barely registered that they were even talking. All his concentration was focussed on keeping Voyager heading in the right direction. The change from normal space to this twisted version of space-time was tough on the thrusters. He was constantly compensating for the differences in the thrusters outputs. It was as though the thrusters were no longer aligned on both sides of the ship. Was it due to the wormhole environment? Probably, but he didn't have time to speculate. That could be done once they reached the other side.

Suddenly a warning sounded. "Report," Janeway shouted over the turbulence.

"Voyager's mass is destabilizing the conduit," Tuvok announced in his ever calm manner. Right now, Janeway was thankful for Vulcan stoicism. At least she knew he wouldn't panic. They all need to have clear heads right now.

"What about the graviton output from the deflector?" Chakotay asked.

"It is no longer effective."

"Why?"

"Unknown."

Janeway shook her head. "It doesn't matter why, what can we do to fix it?"

"Captain, the diameter of the wormhole is shrinking," Harry stated, trying to keep his voice even. "It's only three hundred twenty-two meters."

"It'll hit the shields soon," Chakotay informed.

"Bridge to Engineering. Can you increase the deflector out put?" Janeway asked quickly.

"Output is already at max, Captain," B'Elanna replied in the same rushed manner. She was busy keeping the nimble little ship in one piece down there. The collapsing wormhole was somebody else's problem to fix.

"Captain, Voyager's not going to fit with shield raised," Tom said from the helm. His voice was tight with tension. The added area of the shields was making it hard to manoeuvre the ship. This was it. If they didn't lower the shields they wouldn't fit in the conduit but if they did they'd be at the mercy of any other damaging phenomena that might be present in the wormhole. The Captain made her decision.

"Tuvok, lower shields,"

"Aye Captain," He complied.

"Yes," Tom whispered to himself. There was now more clearance around the ship but the conduit was still shrinking.

"Diameter is two hundred ten meters," Harry announced. A few seconds later he updated them. "two hundred four meters,"

Voyager was widest from one nacelle to the other, with a girth of one hundred ninety-seven point five meters. Once the diameter of the wormhole was that or less, Voyager would be ripped to shreds and nothing would be left of them.

"Twenty-three seconds before wormhole reaches critical diameter," Harry announced. It would still take them twenty eight more seconds to reached the other end of the wormhole. They were already going as fast as they could. The subspace stress on the hull was at maximum load, they couldn't go any faster without destroying the ship.

"We'll make it," Tom said from the helm. He didn't have time to explain. He input the commands to take Voyager to warp. He knew this ship. Once the command was in the nacelles would be angled upwards and that would reduce the ship's width by ten to fifteen meters. Just as he had anticipated the nacelles moved ever so slightly closer to the Voyager and then Tom stalled the warp core. The lights dimmed momentarily before returning to one hundred percent illumination. The nacelles remained in the upright position while the conduit continued to shrink.

In the alpha quadrant just a few light years away from Starbase 621, it was quiet. It was a rarity in these parts, not having any conflict. Since they were so close to DS9 there was often Starfleet Vessels nearby or sometimes Cardassian ones. Today was different but the veritable peace was going to be interrupted by the sudden appearance of another Starfleet ship, one that had been presumed lost, along with all hands.

A flash of light accompanied the opening of the wormhole. As soon as it was fully opened it began to constrict as Voyager's mass upset the balance of forces in the phenomena. Just as it was nearly too late, Voyager darted out of the small opening, having only two meters clearance on either side of the nacelles. The conduit collapsed behind them and with another flash it winked out of existence.

The bridge was silent. The expanse of stars on the screen was a welcomed sight from the blue grey swirls of the conduit but they stars looked like all the other stars they had been passing by for the last four years. Had they finally made it?

"Location," Janeway asked softly into the stunned silence.

"Location is Sector 219. One parsec from Starbase 621," Harry announced. "Eighty-three light years from Sector 001." He read the information from his console and then looked toward the veiwscreen full of stars. "We're home."

The Captain stood up and moved to the center of the bridge. She looked around at the crew, taking in all the stunned faces. They had finally made it. After four years they were back. She smiled. Moving to the helm she place a hand on Tom's shoulder and was surprised to find that he was shaking slightly. She gave him a reassuring squeeze. They had come so close to not making it that she preferred not to think about it but for Tom, not making it through the wormhole would have been a failure of the worst kind. They had come so close to dying, all of them, and he couldn't help thinking that it would have been his fault again.

"Tom," Kathryn said softly to remove him from his inner turmoil. He looked at her, his eyes carefully hooded and his face uncharacteristically bland. "Set a course for the nearest Starfleet base." He nodded.

"Heading, 4-2 mark 8-5. Destination, Starbase 621," He announced to the quiet bridge crew. Janeway gave him a pat on the shoulder before moving to her seat.

Chakotay and Kathryn shared as smile as she sat back down. "Engage."

The small ship jumped to warp in a flash of white light and cheers of success and joy echoed throughout the hull of the ship, none originating from the helm.

Journey's End

Zappy Zaps…


	2. Memoirs

Title: The Truth Will Set You Free

Author: Zappy Zaps

Category: Drama/Action/Adventure

Summary: After four years in the DQ the crew of Voyager makes it home but the homecoming doesn't go as smoothly as they would have hoped. The Alpha Quadrant is in a state of unrest and the Maquis contingent of the crew face jail time unless….

Rating: PG-13

Pairing: P, All

Disclaimer: All the Star Trek characters are Paramount's. I don't own them (yet). ;)

Archiving: Please do, but tell me! note: Meh….

June03

Chapter 2 Memoirs

No replicator rations. That seemed to be the only good thing about getting back to the Alpha Quadrant. Torres requested some chocolates and smiled delightfully. It was one of the few comforts that getting home provided. They hadn't received any responses from the messages they had sent to their loved ones and friends. It had been four days since they had returned and they still hadn't been allowed to leave the ship. It was difficult for those who had been hopeful to see their families but just being close enough to contact them was enough, for now.

She seated herself on her couch and picked through her favourites. She thought about what being home meant for her as she seemed to do daily. She had another chance to set things straight with her parents, assuming her mother would talk to her and that she could find her father. That didn't seem so hard compared to what she had been through in the Delta Quadrant. She smiled to herself and chose another chocolate from her selection. Things would be good, she thought in an uncharacteristically optimistic manner.

She had been in a generally good mood since they had made it back. She didn't realized what home meant to her until the relief that they had made it back washed over her. Over the years in the DQ, the Alpha Quadrant was just a distant goal that she thought she would never see in her lifetime. The only thing waiting for her was the conflict with the Cardassians and the life she had been trying to outrun but now she could see past all that. She could finally see what she had lost when they had been lost in the Delta Quadrant and what they had gained now that they were back. Of course not everybody was excited about being home.

Her smile faltered but remained faintly over her features. She had seen Tom at the Senior Staff briefing once they had arrived at Starbase 621, and he was the only one of them not smiling, other than Tuvok. She talked to him soon after that but he was reluctant to tell her anything, afraid of ruining her good mood. She had then gone to Harry to see if her knew what was wrong and the most peculiar expression of guilt and embarrassment crept over his face and he wouldn't say anything. She guessed that Tom and Harry had a bit of a falling out but she was hopeful that they would sort it out before events surrounding their return spun out of control.

It had been four days but they still were not as close as they had been. They were barely friends. Harry wanted apologize but didn't know how to. Tom was being so neutral towards him. When they ate together in the mess hall Tom made polite conversation with him but it never went beyond that. Questions regarding his well being went unanswered as though Tom didn't think it mattered any more. And what would it. They were home now. Nobody needed him. Those he had considered his friends had family and homes to go to. He had none of the above.

Torres had finally managed to get a spark of happiness into Tom during one of the parties after shift but she could see it fade as he stepped out of the holodeck and into the reality of Voyager. She hoped that things would turn out well for him and for all of them. She had no idea how difficult things were about to get.

Janeway read over the new orders that had been sent to her by Starfleet command. She shook her head. How could they do this? This had to be some cruel joke. She slammed the padd on her desk and looked away. She had sent her logs and the mission logs of the last four years to Starfleet Command and this is what she gets back in return. Did they just skip over the parts where the Maquis half of the crew were integral in their success especially the first officer? She picked up the padd again. Yet here was Starfleet calling for the arrest of all the Maquis. They had given her a brief outline of what had happened during their absence, in an attempt to explain their view of the situation.

The Cardassians and the Breen joined forces with the Dominion and earlier this month there had been an attack on Earth. Significant damage had been done to San Francisco and Starfleet Headquarters. Starfleet and the Fedaration were now on high alert and anything or anyone that could be a threat to their war efforts were to be taken care of –that included the Maquis. It was the Captain's sad duty to inform Chakotay and the other Maquis that most of their comrades in arms were dead or imprisoned. And now Starfleet wanted the rest of the Maquis behind bars where they could not cause any trouble.

"Janeway to Chakotay. Please report to my ready room." She heard him acknowledge her request and gave a quiet sigh. It was going to be difficult but she couldn't put it off. This was too important.

An announcement was made to the crew about the status of the Dominion War and the impending arrests. As was expected, the Maquis and they entire crew were indignant. How could Starfleet do this? It was hard to tell who was Maquis and who was Starfleet anymore and yet their loyalty to Starfleet and the Federation was under question with half the crew about to be placed under arrest. After the commotion settled down there was more quiet contemplation and worrying. They had been informed by the officials on Starbase 621 that the Maquis needed to be transported off Voyager as soon as possible but the Captain refused. Nobody was taking her crew without a fight and those on the Starbase were unwilling to get into an unnecessary firefight with one of their own ships so they held off but reminded Captain Janeway daily that they would have to take the Maquis into custody sooner or later. Until then they were all confined to the ship and no transmissions were allowed to Voyager. The crew was left with only their thoughts and worries to entertain them and it was disturbing entertainment at best.

The mood of the mess hall was low. Conversations went on quietly and few smiled. There wasn't much to smile about. The quadrant was at war. Many had already died and their friends were about to be imprisoned. Chakotay and Kathryn had fielded many questions from the crew, both Starfleet and Maquis, wondering if there was anyway they could get Starfleet to change their mind. They wanted to call in favours from people with influence who owed them but who could influence one of the most powerful military forces in the Quadrant?

"So, this is it," he sighed. "After fighting for freedom in the DMZ, then fighting for survival in the Delta Quadrant, it's going to end with us sitting on our hands, waiting for Starfleet to come and arrest us."

Tom huffed. "No one can ever accuse you of being overly optimistic, Ken."

"Well war can do that," he mumbled. Tom put a hand on his shoulder.

"The Captain's doing everything she can. She'll figure something out."

Ken nodded trying to bring himself out of his sullen state. Across the table Gerron and Chakotay sympathised with the man. The situation wasn't looking very good. Kathryn kept Chakotay apprised of the situation and so he knew the details and it wasn't looking good. Captain Janeway was under increasing pressure by her superiors and her colleagues to give up the Maquis and none of her connections provided anything useful to their case. Tom had suggested that Janeway contact Admiral Paris but the Admiral was not on the board that decided the fate of the Maquis as it was deemed that he was too close to the situation with his son, who was also a former Maquis, being on board the ship. Tom could have told them that it wouldn't mean anything to his father whether he was on the ship or not but Janeway and the elder Paris had been friends of sort. Maybe he'd be willing to giver he his support. Unfortunately they weren't even allowed to contact him.

"Tom," Gerron said quietly. "What's…." he looked down at the table top before leaning a little closer to try asking again. He cleared his throat and Tom was dreading the question. "What is it like in prison?" He knew Tom didn't talk about his time there but he needed to prepare himself. He had lived on Bajor during the Cardassian occupation. He hoped that if he could get through that then he could make it through prison.

Tom leaned forward. "You are not going to prison," he said determinedly as if the very words alone could change reality.

"We don't have a choice. We have no friends in the federation," Gerron stated and it was true. They couldn't hide out on Voyager forever and they had no other options available to them. His homeworld was also in great jeopardy and that only worsened his outlook on the situation. Bajor, being just the next system over to Cardassia, had been one of the first to be annexed when the war escalated and as of early 2374 Bajor was under Cardassian rule. "We have no one to turn to." His voice was hopeless. Chakotay gave the young man words of comfort but to Gerron's ears the words were empty.

Tom was lost in thought and barely registered that the conversation at the small table had continued without him. 'When you have no one to turn to, look to me.' He remembered somebody saying that and then giving him a small satchel. He didn't know who had said it, he didn't know when in his life it had been said but he knew that this person would help. Tom knew he could trust him.

Now where was that little bag? He always took it with him. He hadn't remembered when he had gotten it until today but he had always carried it with him even though he had never opened it. All of a sudden Tom stood up from the table and headed towards the exit. "Tom, where are you going?" Chakotay called after him and standing to follow when Tom didn't break his stride.

"There's someone who might be able to help us," Tom said heading towards the turbolift Chakotay in hot pursuit.

"Who?"

"Well, I don't actually know who it is, but I trust him." Chakotay eyed him carefully. You can't trust somebody if you don't know who they are.

They arrived at the lift and Tom pushed the button to call it. "Are you sure about this?" What if they're no more sympathetic to the Maquis than Starfleet is? What if they don't want to help?"

Tom shook his head and looked at Chakotay. "He'll help. He told me that if ever I was on my own, needing help, with nobody to turn to, look to him."

"And you've never used it?" It sounded like a get out of jail free card to Chakotay and he could think of many times that Paris could have used the help.

Tom shrugged and looked impatiently at the lift doors that were still closed. "I guess I forgot about it but it would have been a waste to use it back then."

"If it works," Chakotay said unsurely. The lift arrived and Tom stepped in. "Are you sure about this?"

He turned to face the former Maquis Captain and gave him a smirk. "Have a little faith, Commander." The doors slid shut. Chakotay stood there for several seconds more before heading back to the messhall. He didn't dare hope that Paris's plan would work. What if the deal was non-transferable? What if it was only meant to help save one person? What if there was nothing at all?

His quarters, once clean, were now a mess. Every drawer had been dumped. Every piece of clothing had been removed from his closet. He'd removed the cushions to his couch thinking that his small prize may had fallen between. He even shifted the mattress off his bed –yet still it was nowhere to be found. He searched through the objects on the floor and still didn't find it. Leaning against the now cushion-less sofa he visually scanned the room, or what remained of it. Where had he stuck it? Stuck! That was it! Getting up from the floor he dashed to the small desk in his quarters that was now sans drawers.

He crawled underneath it and looked up at the bottom of the writing surface. That's were he had stuck it. Using an adhesive tape he had secured it to the under side of the desk so that it wouldn't get thrown around when the ship was in a battle. He smiled and plucked it off. With a long cracking sound the object was dislodged. Tom carefully crawled out from under the desk and then sat on a clear area of the floor. He leaned back against the sturdy desk and turned the satchel over in his hands. This might be their last chance, he thought to himself. This could give his friends their freedom. He promised himself that he would make it work.

Opening it he found two small objects inside. The first was a datachip and the second was a gold piece shaped into a symbol that he didn't recognize and engraved in a language he didn't know. He placed the gold piece in his pocket as he stood and placed the datachip into his console. It beeped to life and on the display was a symbol similar to the one Tom now had in his pocket. The screen changed and showed him a subspace transmission route. He needed to send a message but to do that he would need the Captain's permission and Seven's help. He wouldn't do anything in this matter without her consent. It was after all her crew.

Tom had explained everything that he knew of the datachip's origins to her and how he thought the man at the other end of the subspace transmission would be able to help them and now she stood looking at the starbase looming in front of them while contemplating her answer.

"What do we have left to loose?" Tom asked softly. Janeway leaned her head to one side and brought a hand up to massage the back of her neck. Finally she turned to him. Her eyes were cautiously hopeful. This was a long shot but Tom was right. What did they have left to loose?

"Get Seven to help you and send the message," she said told him in a voice that was unusually strained. Seven would be able to send a message around the interference that the Starbase had aimed at them to prevent all but a few Starfleet transmissions in. He nodded. "Be careful what you tell them. This isn't supposed to be a public affair," Janeway warned. Not that the public would care much. Right now their attention was focussed on the Dominion War.

Two days later the situation wasn't getting any better. Starfleet was threatening to send vessels out to get them. They were reluctant to do so though since every ship was needed to defend Federation space but the threat was enough to jar the nerves of those on board. When people had a bad case of nerves, they went to Sandrine's. The atmosphere was so homey and nonchalant that they could try to forget their troubles in a game of pool or drown them in synthahol.

Tonight Tom and B'Elanna chose the latter. They were seated alone in a booth near the back of the bar nursing their beverages. Tom stared at the beer in front of him and didn't feel much like drinking it. In fact Sandrine's just didn't feel right tonight. Maybe it was because the real Sandrine's was just over eighty light years away and he was stuck in this bad replica. Okay, it's not a bad replica but when the real thing was so close, this felt so fake –at least to Tom.

He sat back with a sigh and contemplated what had gone wrong recently. Starfleet was getting impatient, the crew was getting edgy, and his contact had not replied. Nothing was going right. He had been so sure that his message to…whoever, would be of some good, but here they were no better off than they were two days ago. His right hand balled into a fist as the anger and disappointment took hold of him. A hand on his fist brought him from his churning thoughts.

"You tried Tom," B'Elann told him. She knew of Tom's attempt to help them and for a while she had been hopeful but hope was in short supply these days. Tom relaxed his hand and turned it over so that he could hold B'Elanna's smaller one in his. They were both silent.

"All Senior Staff report to the bridge," Chakotay's voice called and after giving Tom's hand one quick squeeze B'Elanna got up pulling a forlorn Tom with her. Halfway to the bridge Tom and B'Elanna met up with Harry in the turbolift but Tom didn't pay him any mind. It had been a week since they last spoke like real friends, a week that was getting worse by the second especially now that they could both use another friend to lean on.

The bridge was quiet when they arrived. Only Chakotay and Celes were there. They moved to their positions, the Captain and Lt. Commander Tuvok arriving a few seconds later.

"What's going on?" Janeway asked her second in command.

Chakotay stood in the middle of the bridge where Janeway joined him. "We received message saying that they're aware of our predicament and that they're responding to a request made by the chief helmsman," Chakotay said and they looked at Tom who swivelled around in his chair to look at the Commander. Chakotay smiled at him his own hopes rising a little. "The message also came with an image." He gestured to Celes who was at the science station to put the image on the view screen.

A gold symbol with alternating straight and curved edges around the side and markings in the middle appeared on the screen with a black background. They all studied it. Tom's eyes widened. He fished in his pocket for the small object and was relieved to see that he hadn't lost it. He had taken to bringing it with him everywhere, just for good luck. Tom looked between the image and object.

"Tom?" Janeway walked to him at the helm. He held up the object and rotated it until it matched the symbol on the screen. "They're the same," Janeway said.

"It's him," Tom said softly.

So entranced by the drama playing out on the bridge, it took Kim a few moments to notice the signal on his console. "Captain, we're being hailed. Audio only."

"Put it through." There was a soft beep as Kim did just that. "This is Captain Kathryn Janeway of the Federation Starship Voyager. To whom am I speaking?" They waited for a response.

A few seconds later a voice responded. "I'm Tate, Captain of the Halo. Welcome home." Kathryn and Chakotay glanced at each other. The voice was strangely familiar.

"Thank you, but we aren't feeling very welcome."

"Yeah, Starfleet's being paranoid." There was a pause. "Is Lieutenant Paris with you?"

"Yes. He's at the helm," Janeway informed dubiously. Who exactly was this person?

"We'll transport over to discuss your options. Halo out."

Those on the bridge were silent for a few moments. Janeway went to Tom who was staring at the small emblem in his hand. She laid a hand on his shoulder to gain his attention. When he looked at her, she asked quietly, "Do you know who that was?"

He shook his head. "He's not the man who gave me this but he's connected to him and to me…but I don't know how…"

Further conversation was interrupted by the sound of two people materializing on the bridge. When the green light cleared two men stood at the front left corner of the bridge, just meters from the helm. Both of them appeared to be human. The shorter of the two had dark hair and green eyes. His skin tone was olive and he had a lean frame. The second man bore a striking resemblance to Voyager's chief helmsman. Tall, blue eyes, his hair was a little darker, he had a slightly large build but his facial features were nearly identical to Tom's just a little more broad. They were both dressed in charcoal pants and shirts with a navy jacket with a gold commbadge in the shape of the image they had seen earlier.

"I'm Tate and this is my friend, Emilio" the man who looked like Tom spoke. The Voyager officers were speechless. They looked back and forth between Tate and Tom. What the hell is going on? Tate looked at the officers assembled and his eyes came to rest on Tom. He smiled broadly and stepped towards Tom, ignoring the Captain who stood next to him. "Tom, it's so good to see you." He enveloped Tom in a hug.

Tom patted the other man's back awkwardly before removing himself from the embrace. "Do I know you?" He asked cautiously and watched as the face of his…twin fell.

Tate looked down briefly before looking back at Tom. "Right, you don't remember." He looked back at Emilio who stood behind him. The other man shrugged sympathetically and Tate turned back to Tom. They locked eyes and time was non-existent for those few moments.

For Tom it was like looking into a living mirror, except that the version of himself before him looked to be younger than he. "Tom, I'm your brother," Tate told him gently and just as he expected Tom denied it. Of course, he didn't know any better.

"I don't have any brothers," Tom told him. His voice was light and easy but Tate thought heard a note of tension in his voice.

Looking at the rest of the people on the bridge Tate decided that they would need the whole story before they could make a decision –a decision that was ultimately Tom's. Tate looked sadly at the man the boy he had known grew up to be. "You have five brothers, Tom. None of which you remember."

"That's impossible," Tom said assuredly but Tate just shook his head.

"I think that we should take this somewhere private," Janeway said. She ushered their guests into the conference room and left Tuvok in command of the bridge. The chairs around the briefing table went unoccupied as all assembled preferred to stand. Harry and B'Elanna eyed Tate and Emilio with great distrust. None of what Tate had told Tom made any sense and hearing it, whether true or not, was cruel. As Tom's friends it was their duty to protect and support him.

"Now, Tate," Kathryn began, "how exactly are you related to Mr. Paris?" Her voice was placating –she obviously didn't believe the Captain of the Halo- and the tone grated on Tate's nerves.

"That's not his name," he snapped. After taking a deep breath he apologized. Emilio had warned him that this would not be easy on him but as hard as it was for Tate, he knew that his would many times worse for Tom. "Your name," he addressed Lt. Paris, "is 'Thomas'. That's it. Not 'Thomas Eugene Paris'. That name was given to you after you were severed from the program."

"I know my own name," Tom stated. "And what program?" His eyes narrowed.

"You only know what you've been told Tom." Tate stepped closer to his brother hoping that Tom would be able to see the truth in his eyes. A hand on his shoulder stopped his advance.

"Maybe….maybe you should start at the beginning," Emilio said and gave Tate a comforting pat on the shoulder. Tate swallowed. "You might want to sit down for this," Emilio suggested to Tom. "It won't be easy. For either of you." He looked between the two men before giving them both some room.

Tom shook his head and raised his hands to stall any long story that would be coming his way. "We can talk about this later. Right now the we need to keep our friends out of prison."

Emilio shook his head. "Tom you don't know what you're getting into." For a human his voice sounded strangely even and controlled, Vulcan like. "The past that has been hidden from you is very important."

"How so?" Tom crossed his arms across his chest. Harry noticed the defensive stance and knew that these people were starting to unnerve his friend.

Tate intervened here. "The subspace co-ordinates that you were given had been part of Nathaniel Teller's personal communications. He was the one you were supposed to turn to when you needed help, providing that you remembered what he had said. Unfortunately Teller was killed many years ago so he can't help you. We can help you, but the terms of the agreement have changed." Tate sounded as though he did not agree morally with the new terms.

This discussion was raising to many questions, the most prevalent one being, "What terms?" Janeway asked quickly. She had a bad feeling about this agreement but it was too late to turn back now.

"Teller gave Tom the datachip and symbol so that when he asked for it, Teller could help him. No strings attached."

"Why would he do that?" Chakotay questioned.

Emilio was about to answer but Tate shook his head. "It's not important. The thing is, that agreement has changed due to the circumstances we now find ourselves in." He turned his gaze from the Commander back to the Chief Helmsman. "In exchange for your friends' freedom, we…we get you, as you were when you left the program."

"Unacceptable," Janeway answered immediately.

"What do you mean you get me? And what 'program' do you keep referring to?" Tom asked in annoyance and apprehension. He felt a terrible foreboding at the core of his mind and there was a sinking feeling in his gut. Emilio's next words would not help him feel any better.

"You might want to sit down."

Tom looked between the two strangers and saw the apprehension in their expressions as well. "Shit. This is going to bad," he whispered to himself but was easily overheard. He looked away briefly, composing himself and preparing himself for what was to come. "Let's get this over with," Tom said looking back to Emilio and Tate.

"Tom, you're not who you think you are." Emilio said softly. "You're not the son of Owen and Marleen Paris. You were adopted by them when you were the physical equivalent of ten years old."

"Then who am I? Where do I come from?" Tom asked cautiously.

Tate thought that it would be best if the next part of the history lesson came from him. He stepped a little closer to Tom and willed his voice to be as gentle as possible in hopes of taking away the shock of what he was about to say next. "You were part of a project. Nathaniel Teller was a geneticist. With some back door help from the Federation, he created us." He watched Tom carefully for a reaction and was dismayed to see nothing but distrust. Please, Tom don't make this harder than it already is, Tate pleaded mentally. "You are number four of six from the T-Series project. Genetically engineered to be faster than a Ktarrian, as smart as a Vulcan and as strong as a Klingon." Tate waited for a response from Tom. Around them Kathryn Janeway was claiming how preposterous this was, Harry Kim was claiming that it was untrue, B'Elanna Torres was threatening them and Commander Chakotay accused them of making all this up. Emilio ran interference but Tom and Tate were silent and still, eyes locked. Eventually the commotion around them settled and attention was turned back to the two similar-looking, -sounding, and –acting men.

Tom's soft words broke the spell of quiet. "I don't believe you."

Tate didn't back down. "I didn't think you would, but I had hoped." He pulled a computer memory unit from his pocket and showed it to Tom. "I can prove it." Tom stared at the CMU. Was it really all on that? Was the truth so simple that it could be contained on a few quads of memory? "I can show you."

"Fine. Prove it," Tom said stubbornly and found the knot is his stomach growing larger and the foreboding, more intense.

Breaking the stare Tate looked at the others. "On this are holographic recordings taken from The Institute. It proves true, everything that I've told you." He looked back to Tom. "Are you sure you want to see this?"

"Its pretty bad, huh?" Tate nodded solemnly. "Yeah, I'm sure."

"And them?" Emilio gestured to the rest of the assembled Senior Staff.

Tom glanced at his fellow officers and friends he gave them a weak smile. "It's their choice to come or not, but I have a feeling that I'm going to need some help getting through this."

A few minutes later the entire Senior Staff of Voyager, except the Doctor were present outside of holodeck one. Captain Janeway had asked Tuvok to join them since as a security officer he would be able to verify whether what they were about to see was real or fraudulent. With Tom's permission she had briefed him on what had happened during the meeting. Tuvok was sceptical but kept his mind open.

"Prepare yourselves," Emilio cautioned as he loaded the information in to a temporary directory in the ship's computer. He pressed a few keys and the doors slid open. They proceeded in. Tom hesitated at the juncture of the holodeck. Too many questions starting with 'what if' raced through his mind and the hand placed on his shoulder startled him.

"You okay?" Chakotay asked.

Tom shook his head. "Ask me that when we leave the holodeck."

Chakotay leaned closer to the pilot. "We're all here for you Tom. You're not alone in this."

Tom didn't expect the sense of relief that flowed through him from hearing that but accepted it freely and without question. While his past was being torn apart at least he was sure that the people he had come to trust would still be there when this was done with. He wasn't alone.

"This is the institute," Tate said as they walked into the foyer of the building from the Voyager's corridor. "This, Tom, is where you spent every moment of your life up until you were removed." Tom didn't respond. He looked around the foyer but nothing was familiar. It was a fairly unspectacular room. No paintings, no carpet, not even a chair to sit on. It lacked the welcoming feeling that foyers were supposed to provide. People were not supposed to be welcomed here. Most people did not even know of the existence of this place. "I know you don't remember this place. I'll explain that too," Tate said and guided them into a different room thinking that he had a whole lot of explaining to do.

"This is where it began." He waved a hand to the six incubation chamber in the plain room. They were arranged one next to the other and inside each was a baby. Also in the room were some holographic people. They looked to be doctors and nurses just going about their business to take care of the 'unborn' infants. Tate walked to the fourth chamber from the entrance. "Tom, this is you."

From the entrance Tom regarded at the chamber and after rustling up the courage he moved to take a closer look. He glanced at Tate before looking through the transparent barrier. The baby was suspended in an orange solution and there was a cord from its stomach to the machine. It was so cold and disconcerting. Tom was ready to leave but the urge to know the truth was too strong to ignore. He was about to reach out and touch the machine but a few centimetres before he did Tate's voice drew him back. "There's more." He told them and after allowing Tuvok a moment to confirm that this was not a programmed scenario but rather a recorded one, he change the time index and moved them to another room.

This room was also bare of furniture except for the six desks lined up from one end to the other. Six children sat at the desks working diligently over their padds and being monitored by two adults, one man and one woman. It was not an unusual sight except that all the children (all boys) looked strikingly similar. They all had blonde hair that over the years would darken to golden and brown colours. They either had blue or green eyes giving evidence that their genes were not totally identical but the facial features were nearly identical between them all, showing just how close their genes were.

"This is the T-Series," Tate introduced He walked over to one of the boys. He placed a hand on top of the young boys head. "This is Thomas, four of six in the T-Series."

"That's me?" Tom said moving closer and crouching down to get a better look at the child. It could be him but it could be a lot of other people too.

"What does 'four of six' mean?" B'Elanna asked.

Emilio answered. "Thomas was the fourth child to be removed from the incubation chambers out of the six, hence four of six."

"And the others?" Tom said standing to look at the other five boys. "They're my brothers?" He was desperately hoping that this was a lie. He didn't want this to be his life.

"Yes." Tate said.

"What are their names?"

Tate gestured to the boy at the far end of the room. "Tanner," he pointed to the next one, "Tate," and then the next one, "Terrence," and so on, "Thomas, Trevor and Tyson." Tom looked at all of them. His brothers. "Our names are alphabetical by our order of 'birth'. Tanner was first, then me, then Terrence and so on. There's only about half an hour between each of us but," Tate smiled slightly, "it was a serious issue when we were younger."

"How old are they?" Tom asked and Tate was depressed to hear that Tom didn't believe what he was being shown. 'How old are they?' not 'How old are we?' or 'How old am I?"

"Physically, we're all about five here."

"Physically?" Harry questioned.

"How much time had passed since the last scene?" Tom asked suspiciously.

Tate sighed. Things were about to get more complicated. "Nine years."

"Nine years? If they're only the physical equivalent of five years old how could nine years have passed?" Janeway inquired. Not only did she not believe what was shown but common sense was being contradicted.

"I'm not sure of the exact process that they used but by infusing our bodies with chronotons set to a specific temporal frequency they were able to slow our aging process."

"Why?" Tom asked heatedly. "Why do any of this?"

"'To maintain piece you must prepare for war'. We're weapons." Tate stated so indifferently that Tom wanted to grab him by the shoulders and shake him. Weapons! So that makes it all okay? "They designed us, made us and trained us, hard. So that one day we might be able to protect the Federation, to establish peace and, if necessary, force it."

"When did this training begin?" Tuvok asked.

"Since the moment they were born." Emilio looked to the six boys that were still working and recalled similar memories.

"Are you part of the T-Series?" Tuvok asked.

Emilio shook his head. "No. I'm two of four in the-"

"E-Series," Tom interjected and Emilio nodded. "Inventive," Tom said as he rolled his eyes to the ceiling. "Who named them?"

Tate was getting increasingly disturbed that Tom didn't believe him. Sure he was trained to handle difficult people but in those instances he could keep an emotional detachment that was lacking in this situation. "Each series is designated by the person who is chiefly responsible for their creation. For the T-Series it was Nathaniel Teller. Each one is then name alphabetically using the first letter of their last name."

"So," Tom said crossing his arms defiantly, "What went wrong with me that I had to leave this lovely place."

"You, Tom, were the rogue of our series," Tate said smiling. "You didn't do it on purpose but you naturally questioned everything. You always needed a reason why. And when the answers given weren't enough, you found your own." Tate looked around the familiar room. "Try to understand that until I was twelve I never left this building. I never left the planet until I was seventeen. The Insitute was our world and anything beyond, what we call the 'outside', was known to us only through what we were taught. Nobody knows how you managed to do it, but you, Tom, brought in media from the outside. Vids, music, pictures, stories," Tate's tale was interrupted as the woman called to the six boys that work time was over and led them to the exit. The recording had been playing out while they had talked.

The boys quickly left their work and scurried to the door. Tate gestured for them to follow. They'd walk and talk. "They trained us to be independent, totally self reliant. We were only supposed to look out for number one but you were different." He looked at Tom who walked next to him. His gaze was focussed ahead, on the group they followed. "In the simulations you preferred to negotiate rather that harm someone, you tried to save everybody even if it put yourself in danger and you united the six of us."

"So what was the problem?" Harry asked.

"That's not what we were supposed to do. That's not what they taught us. Tom continually defied them. Of course we didn't see what the problem was but that was all they saw, a problem. They tried to correct that too. They weren't easy on you, Tom. You were too important an asset to loose. We all were and they tried everything to get you to behave as they wanted." Tate changed the time index on the recording and group of children with the woman disappeared. Silently Tate led them to what appeared to be a holodeck.

Before they could identify what the simulation was it ended and a child the looked to be maybe seven or eight years old was revealed. A door to the adjacent room opened and a man walked briskly over to the child. "What the hell was that?" the man asked.

"I was going to help them fix it," the child responded. His blue eyes staring up at the much larger man. Without warning the man slapped the child sending him to the floor.

"That was not your objective," he told the child harshly.

A woman walked into the holodeck from the adjacent room and the other five boys crowded to the doorway to see what was going on but knew better than to interfere. "James, that's enough." The woman scolded. She went to the child and helped him up. The man pushed her away.

"There's something wrong with this one. He doesn't follow orders."

"There is nothing wrong with him," she countered vehemently. "He didn't overlook the people that he could help. It's called compassion and there's nothing wrong with it."

"What if his 'compassion' gets him killed? Then what?" The man started to pace. "He has to learn that nothing else matters except the mission."

"What about integrity?" the child asked. The man glared at him. "Isn't the purpose of the mission to help people?"

"You're twisting this." The man ran his hands through his curly hair. "Get them back to their bunks." He pointed to the other five boys watching the spectacle with interest but fearing for their brother.

"What are you going to do, James?" she asked fearfully.

He turned angry eyes on her. "I'm going to teach Thomas a lesson." The woman stood there but knew that she could not dissuade him. With steps heavy with guilt, she went back to the rest of the group. The door closed behind her sealing Thomas in the holodeck with the angry man but she had seen the regret and sadness in his eyes he tried to hide from her and from all of them. "Let's see if you can get it right this time."

Before anything else could happen Tate changed the time index again. "Wait what happened to him?" Harry asked sounding distressed.

"I don't know the details but they ran the drills over for eight more hours. By the time Tom came back to his bunk that night, he could hardly walk. And that's just the beginning."

"Let me guess," Tom said, "it gets worse."

"You have no idea." Tate walked them to a room and paused before triggering the door. "I hope you're ready. All of you." He said to the group. They walked in and the first thing to greet them was the sound of a whip cracking. The man holding the whip was near them but he was not the same one who had punished young Thomas for not doing well in the simulation in the previous scene. This man was totally bald and smaller than the one last time. "It's been about a year," Tate narrated.

There was a boy standing with his back to the adult near the wall. It was plain to see that he was the intended target for the whip. There were slashes across his back already indicating that this session had not just begun even though it would be a while before it ended. The man raised his arm and expertly brought the whip across the child's back. The yelp of pain didn't seem to disturb him. He did it again, and again, and again. With each blow Tom winced and staggered as though he had been struck. An unfamiliar memory assaulted him with each lash. He was standing there, being whipped and asking himself why he didn't fight back. He wasn't restrained in anyway, yet he didn't resist his punishment. He knew he deserved it. They had told him so. There was something wrong with him.

"Stop it," Tom said in a harsh voice. Tate paused the holographic playback. "I can't watch this anymore."

"You lived it Tom." Tate told his brother even as he turned away. "That's you over there and this is not the first or last time that you'll be punished like this. Until you're released the punishments only get worse -until they decide that enough is enough." Tom shook his head trying not to believe it. Tate changed the time index so that a few hours had passed.

The lights in the room were turned low and other than the small form lying on the floor, the room was empty of holograms. They all watched as the boy picked himself painfully off the ground. His shirt lay in tatters on the floor, having been picked apart by the whip and whatever was done after they had stopped watching. Making it to his feet he unsteadily walked out of the room. He continued down the hallways that he knew so well, stumbling to the ground often. The pain over his body was so intense it was almost blinding, nevertheless he carried on and through almost sheer determination he made it to the room with the bunks. He collapsed for the last time just before he could make it to his bed. He lay there on his front not moving except for the rhythm of his breathing.

The room remained still and silent for several more seconds until one of the other boys sat up in his bed and looked around. Seeing that the coast was clear he gave a low whistle and the other boys got up as well. They all moved swiftly to the side of the one that lay on the floor seemingly unaware of who was around him. Without words being spoken they helped him to his bed. They did what they could to make him comfortable and stayed by his side as he gazed unseeingly at the ceiling.

The Voyager officers moved closer but Tom remained were he was not wanting or needing to see what he was reliving in his forgotten memories. One of the boys sat on the bed next to the injured boy and pulled him into his arms. At first there was no response but the arms of the previously unresponsive child wrapped securely around one of his brothers. His body shook as he began to cry the soul twisting sobs of pain and fear. They all want to know why but the answer was never given to them. All they could do was endure. So they tried.

His face could not be seen but the child's body shook with heavy sobs. In the eyes of the other boys tears collected and eventually fell. They cried silently for the one of them who had been so badly injured. It was the same every night, only that it seemed to be getting worse. They all moved closer to offer some comfort and soon all six were squeezed onto the small bed. Tanner, Tate, Terrence, Trevor and Tyson crying silently while Thomas's sobs pierced the night.

"It was always like this. It went on for years… until one night you didn't come back," Tate said. His voice was tight with emotions that he held back. He could see the moisture collecting in the eyes of the others except for Tuvok and Tom. Tuvok looked disturbed, the last scenes pressing hard on his Vulcan discipline. Tom was reliving the event in his memories but it was too much for him to take so there was nothing.

"They told us that you were taken away and that you wouldn't be coming back….and that was it. From then on you were just a memory but we would never forget you. Even though they made you forget us." Tom didn't respond. His eyes were still transfixed by the group of six on the bed. Even when the program was ended and the hologrid returned Tom didn't move, barely breathed.

"Tom?" Harry approached but Tom stepped back from him shaking his head.

"I…I…This isn't real."

"Tuvok checked, Tom. It's real," Tate told him forcefully. He sympathized with Tom, he really did, but he need to get it through to him that this his past, his life.

"No. I don't believe you." Tom's voice wavered and he continued to stare at the space where a moment ago the six boys had been.

Tate advanced on him "Yes you do."

"You're making this up." His voice was strong again and he looked directly into the eyes of his so-called brother.

"Damn it, Tom. What more do you want?" Tate's frustration was evident and Tuvok watched him carefully for any signs that he might turn violent.

"You make me sound ungrateful," Tom scoffed. His demeanour returning as he denied to himself what he had just seen and felt. "I didn't ask for any of this."

Tate shook his head. "You have a tracking device," he told Tom who was still sceptical. "I'll show you." In a quick motion, Tate took out a blade. Tuvok was ready to stop him but suddenly there was a phaser aimed at the group.

Emilio had taken out his weapon and trained it on the group of Voyager officers. "Don't move," he told them.

"Janeway to transporter room," Kathryn said tapping her commbadge. There was not response.

"I have a scattering device with me. No communications can leave within a ten meter radius of it," Emilio stated. They watched helplessly, knowing that they could no longer call for a beam out.

Tom defended himself well; almost knowing the movements Tate would make before they happened but eventually he lost to the more highly trained man and found himself with both arms pinned behind him and Tate's weight forcing him into the wall. Before Tom could break free he felt a sharp pain in upper arm and knew that Tate had cut him. Making good use of Tom's momentary shock he reached into the wound ignoring Tom's strangled cry at the pain he caused him. He heard Tom's friends yelling at him to stop and he heard Emilio fire warning shots but he did not let his concentration stray. He felt the thin object he had been searching for and with a quick motion he grabbed it and pulled it out. Tom bit back a yell of agony. Finally Tate let him go and Tom immediately turned to face his attacker. He brought a hand up to the wound. The blood oozed out and over his fingers as he stared at Tate with wide eyes.

Between his fingers he held what looked to be a metal wire with a small lobe in the middle of its length. It was about six inches long. "This is what they used to track you. They always knew where you were, except when you were in the Delta Quadrant."

Tom shook his head dazedly. "No," he whispered.

"Think about it, Tom!" Tate's voice was harsh. He pushed his personal feelings away. He had to do this and it would not be easy. He'd deal with the emotions later. "You don't have any memories before the age of eleven. When you left the program they wiped your memory of the institute and changed your ageing speed back to normal. That's why I look younger than you."

"I had an accident…."

"No you didn't! They spoon fed you lie after lie until you believed them!"

Harry couldn't stand to hear anymore of this. "Leave him alone!" He yelled and moved towards Tom, only to have Emilio aim the phaser at him. He would have continued forward but Captain Janeway took a firm grip on his arm.

"Think about the Paris family Tom. Did they ever treat you like you belonged with them? They could only try to be your friend even if they weren't your family."

Tom closed his eyes. "No…they…." He swallowed. Please don't let him be right, Tom begged. He felt a pair of hands on either side of his head and warily he opened his eyes. Tate stared back at him.

"And your father Tom," Tate let Tom recall the memories of his father. He let him question them before telling him, "He couldn't even pretend to love you."

That was it. That's what it had taken to break him. Tom pulled away from Tate and leaned against the wall. His eyes, glistening with tears, stared ahead seeing nothing. His face was pale and he trembled. Soon his legs could no longer support him as his mind locked him in what he thought was his own, personal hell. He slid to the floor his eyes still barren.

Tate watched with an aching heart. He had done this. He had meant to do this. Still, knowing this didn't make him feel any better. He looked back to Tom's friends who had been silent for the last few moments. No doubt they had heard what he said. He looked at their eyes and he saw hatred directed at him and Emilio but compassion for Tom. At least they would help him through this, Tate thought. He looked back to his brother who had not spoken or moved since he collapsed to the floor.

He crouched down just to the side of Tom and spoke softly to him. Tom didn't respond. Tom hadn't heard him at all. "Tom," Tate said putting a hand gently to either side of Tom's head. "I'm sorry it had to be like this," he apologized. "I know you hate me, you have every right to, but know this. I never stopped caring for you even when you were taken away. I still love you and now more than ever I need you." Tom closed his eyes and lowered his head. "I'm sorry, Tom," Tate whispered brokenly. He kissed him on the top of the head and stood up hardly noticing the smears of blood that he left on Tom's face.

"Emilio," Tate called, his voice low with emotions he barely concealed. "Let's get give him some time." He turned to Voyager's senior staff. "I'll contact you in twenty-four hours if you're still interested in helping the Maquis on your crew."

"Not with your help," Janeway said harshly.

"Can you help them?" Tom asked. His head was still down. He refused to look up at them, fearing what he would see. "Can you give them their freedom?"

"It'll take some work, but yes, we can help them." Emilio answered. He still lowered his weapon but kept it at his side. "Think about it, Tom. It's your choice. You can give them the freedom to live their lives, or keep the freedom to live a lie."

"I don't need to think about it," Tom said. Though his voice could barely be heard it was sure. Emilio shook his head

Tapping their commbadges twice, Tate and Emilio vanished in a glow of green light after giving Tom a compassionate glance that he did not see. "I'm sorry." Tate said just before he vanished. As soon as they were gone Harry was at Tom's side in an instant.

"Tom?" Harry said softly. Tom didn't look at him.

"It's all a lie," Tom murmured.

"Don't believe him. He's the one lying," B'Elanna said coming to his side. Tom gave no response. He was thinking about what he remembered of his life and questioning each moment he spent with his family, or the people he was told were his family.

"Tom," B'Elanna called but he didn't say anything.

"I think he's in shock," Janeway said. She called to have Tom and Harry beamed to Sickbay. They vanished soon after and only a small stain of blood and what Tate said was a tracking device, were left on the floor. Kathryn picked up the small device. She planned on scanning this device and determining for herself if it was what Tate said it was.

"Damn them," Torres cursed vehemently. A sentiment echoed by all. "This isn't fair to him." She looked at the superior officers that were still in the holodeck. "He'll do it too. He'll agree to their terms if it means he can get our freedom."

"I won't let him," Janeway said in her command tone.

Tuvok interrupted. "They told us that the decision was Lt. Paris' alone,"

"I don't care," Janeway said. She glared at the small piece in her hands. "B'Elanna, take this to engineering and run a full spectral analysis on it. I want to know everything about this." She handed the device to the young woman who nodded. "Commander, you and I are going to do some research into this 'Institute' and Nathaniel Teller. Tuvok, you're in command; keep a look out for the Halo. I don't want them sneaking on board, or sneaking Tom off."

"Aye Captain," Tuvok responded.

They left the holodeck taking the images they had seen would be with them. Tuvok went to the bridge to assume command and Torres headed to her domain to run some scans. Chakotay and Kathryn walked in silence towards the lift to take them to deck seven. The main computer was located there and they could search for the information the needed. They were in the turbolift both occupied with their own thoughts about everything they had seen and heard from Tate and Emilio when something occurred to Chakotay.

"The agreement," he said gaining Kathyrn's attention. She looked up at him wondering what revelation he had come to. "They said that in exchange for helping the Maquis, they would get Tom back as he was when he left the institute. What did they mean by that?" he asked knowing that Kathyrn wouldn't have the answer but needing to ask anyway.

"I don't know, but their not getting anyone from this crew if I have anything to say about it."

They stepped out onto deck seven and proceeded down the corridor. Hoping to find the information that would straighten all this out.

End Memoirs

So sorry for the long time between updates. I completely forgot about posting this story. It's been sitting on my hard drive for so long it just slipped my mind. Oops!

Zaps


End file.
